
Those familiar with the whiskey world can tell you that WhistlePig is nearly synonymous with rye whiskey. In fact, the Vermont-based distillery is credited with helping revive the spirits category over a decade and a half ago. In that time, the company has also put out some incredible expressions in the bourbon and single malt markets as well. However, until now, it’s yet to release a straight wheat whiskey.

One could say rye was an obvious choice for starting a new whiskey brand back in 2007, seeing that this was the type of whiskey most popular prior to Prohibition and had been rife for a comeback for some time. However, WhistlePig has proven that it’s not afraid to step outside of its comfort zone, as evident by its annual FarmStock Beyond Bonded limited releases. The company just announced its lineup for 2023, which includes its first-ever straight wheat whiskey, along with straight rye and straight bourbon whiskeys. Bottled as single-barrel expressions at 100 proof, the lot features 23 barrels in total, all harvested and distilled in a single distilling season at the WhistlePig Farm & Distillery in Shoreham, Vermont.
Coming from just three barrels, making it the brand’s rarest whiskey yet, the Straight Wheat Whiskey features a mashbill of 100% wheat from what WhistlePig calls its experimental crop fields. The result will be much softer than the rye and corn-based bourbon. Wheat has been used as part of the mashbill for some of its ryes before, but this is the first time it’s been the dominant grain. From eleven barrels, the FarmStock Straight Rye Whiskey features 100% rye in its mashbill. Meanwhile, the FarmStock Straight Bourbon Whiskey, which comes from a stock of nine barrels, has a high-rye mashbill of 51% corn and 49% rye — the highest amount possible and dwarfing almost any other high-rye bourbon out there.
Aged in the brand’s own Vermont oak barrels, the bottled-in-bond-style whiskeys can be purchased only in Vermont until the end of the summer. However, FarmStock Beyond Bonded will surely pop up on the secondary market soon afterward. Find out more from WhistlePig’s website.